The Short Answer.
YES, if you live in a climate where the low temperature falls below 32 degrees Fahrenheit, you need to winterize your camper. Trust us on this one. We learned this lesson the hard (and expensive) way… The good news is that this process isn’t the cumbersome/overwhelming activity that you may be expecting.
How We Learned the Hard Way.
Because we purchased our first camper in March, and it had been previously winterized by the manufacturer (or maybe by the dealership). That first year, we had no idea what we were doing, so we took the camper back to the dealership to be winterized.
The following year, we were apparently much more confident (or stupid)… Although we intended to winterize the camper ourselves, we never got around to it. We took our last trip in late September and kept telling ourselves that we’d winterize the camper “next weekend.” Well, weekend after weekend came and went and we never winterized the camper. We live in Colorado and the low temperature is routinely below freezing in the winter.
Fast forward to the following spring and we took the camper back to the dealership to do some routine maintenance. While we were there, we nonchalantly told them that we’d forgotten (slash neglected) to winterize the camper the previous fall. The immediate raising of the eyebrows should have clued us in – we’d really messed up. Completely ignorant, we asked that they “take a look,” but we didn’t expect them to find any damage. We were wrong. Turns out, we’d broken several things in the camper, including the kitchen sink faucet and the toilet water valve. $500 later and we’d learned our lesson: do not forget to winterize your camper!
How do I Winterize My Rig?
The worst part about the story above is that winterizing your camper is not hard. The process we’ll outline below typically takes us about 20-30 minutes each fall. Although you can pay a dealership to do this for you, it is certainly a task that you can handle yourself (as long as you have the correct tools).
Speaking of tools, you will need a few things before you get started. You can buy these materials on Amazon or you can go to Walmart. Pro tip: Walmart has a great RV aisle and usually has everything you need for your rig, from anti-freeze to welcome mats to sewage hoses. Regardless of where you choose to shop, you will need the following:
- An air compressor (we usually borrow one for this small task)
- An adaptor for the compressor
- A small bucket (or two)
- RV-safe anti-freeze liquid
Once you have your materials, follow these steps:
- Drain all of your tanks – fresh water, grey, and black.
- Remove the anode from your hot water heater and allow all remaining water to escape.
- Bypass your hot water heater. (The bypass lever for our hot water tank is under our mattress; hopefully yours is easier to access!)
- Adjust the air compressor to 30 PSI (any higher PSI risks damage to your water lines).
- Attach the adaptor to the air compressor.
- Insert the adaptor to your camper’s city water connection.
- Place a small bucket in the kitchen sink and turn on the cold water to the kitchen faucet. You do not need to turn on your water pump.
- Turn on the air compressor, water should begin to escape the faucet, into the bucket. Allow all water to escape the line. You are done when nothing but air is coming through the faucet. Repeat with the hot water to the kitchen faucet.
- Repeat step 7 for all remaining faucets and the toilet. You likely need to do this process in the bathroom sink, the shower, and the toilet.
- Remove the drainage caps to the fresh water tank, the hot water line, and the cold water line. Keep these in a safe place, you will need them in spring!
- Pour the anti-freeze liquid in the sinks, the shower, and the toilet. I do not pour antifreeze in our fresh water tank because the taste is nearly impossible to remove. As long as you remove all of the water from the lines, this should not create a problem.
And, voila, you are ready for winter! You can now go about your winter plans without worrying about your camper. We hope this post makes the winterizing task seem a little less daunting and – maybe – it will save you $500!
